Grant clinches Old Spice title for State

Just when it looked like the men's basketball team would lose its second game of the season on Sunday, Gavin Grant saved the day.

With less than three seconds left in the championship game of the Old Spice Classic, Dante Cunningham scored a layup after getting a rebound to put No. 20 Villanova up 68-67 against N.C. State.

But after a 20-second timeout and a quick in-bounds pass by the Wolfpack, Cunningham fouled Gavin Grant on a 3-point attempt with 0.4 seconds remaining. Coming off a Villanova timeout, Grant missed the first free throw. He made the next, then hit the final free throw.

Villanova missed a final attempt as State held on for the 69-68 win, moving to 4-1 on the season and winning the tournament.

Junior guard Courtney Fells led the Pack with 21 points in the victory, and he had five rebounds and two assists. Grant and freshman J.J. Hickson each pitched in 15 points, while junior Ben McCauley scored 10.

The game was back-and-forth after State jumped to an early 9-2 lead. Despite trailing 33-27 late in the first half, the Pack recovered as Fells scored eight points in an 11-0 run to close the half and give State a 38-33 lead.

In the win, State committed 22 turnovers, compared with only 11 by the Wildcats. But sharp shooting, 23-of-43 overall and 7-of-15 from the 3-point line, helped make up for the giveaways.

McCauley started the three games of the tournament after Hickson had started against William & Mary and New Orleans earlier in the season. The team defeated Rider 72-63 in Thursday's first round behind 18 points from Fells, then knocked off South Carolina 63-61 in Friday's semifinals on the strength of 21 points from redshirt sophomore forward Brandon Costner.

The Pack heads to East Lansing, Mich., to face Michigan State on Wednesday at 7 p.m. in the ACC/Big 10 Challenge. State, which hasn't played MSU since a 2002 NCAA Tournament first-round victory, defeated Michigan at the RBC Center in the ACC/Big 10 Challenge last season.